a. Field of Invention
The invention relates generally to consoles for motor vehicles and the like, and more particularly to a motor vehicle center floor console including a securely guided sliding armrest having improved mechanics for facilitating the sliding operation and for minimizing cross-car deflection of the armrest.
b. Description of Related Art
Motor vehicle consoles are well known in the art and generally include a storage compartment for the storage of objects and a console lid for covering a storage compartment opening as well as for serving as an armrest. Often, the armrest is located at a fixed intermediate position most suited for persons of average size. In some luxury automobiles however, the armrest may be designed to slide in the vehicle's length-wise direction for providing adjustability for different users and their unique driving positions.
Known console sliding armrests generally include a sliding assembly which requires a user to push along the longitudinal direction of the armrest (i.e. the vehicle's length-wise) to release the armrest from a rest position and to continue the sliding movement to one of a predetermined number of locking positions particularly suited for the user. In some armrest sliding assemblies, the sliding movement may be controlled or otherwise facilitated by spring biasing means, known examples of which have thus far been relatively complicated in design and operation, and have also been unreliable during extended use.
One such known console sliding armrest is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,007,155 to Hara et al. ('155 Patent). Referring to FIG. 1 of the '155 Patent, there is disclosed a guide assembly 100 for a retractable armrest. Guide assembly 100 includes a slide assembly 130 and a biasing assembly 135 which includes first rail member 140 and first biasing member 150. A second mirror-image biasing assembly 137 is provided on the opposite side of slide assembly 130. In operation, a spring 154 urges biasing member 150 against rail member 140 to thus urge member 140 orthogonally towards slide assembly 130, thereby maintaining constant contact between member 140 and slide assembly 130. According to the '155 Patent, this feature eliminates the rattle between member 140 and slide assembly 130, (see discussion in Col. 3:1-10).
As readily evident from the illustration of FIG. 1 of the '155 Patent, the operation of the biasing assembly depends on smooth relative sliding of members 140, 150, and members 160, 170 of the opposite biasing assembly. Over time however, due to the eventual contamination of assemblies 135, 137 from environmental and other factors, members 140, 150 and 160, 170 tend to stick and/or slip, thus deviating from the intended operation of the biasing assemblies. Further, due to the multiple components required for proper operation of each biasing assembly 135, 137, use of such multiple biasing assemblies can be prohibitive both from a cost and reliability standpoint.
Accordingly, there exists a need for a console sliding armrest biasing assembly which includes fewer components for facilitating the manufacturing process. There also exists a need for an armrest biasing assembly in which the components are less susceptible to environmental elements, and are therefore highly reliable for long-term use.
Other exemplary console sliding armrests are disclosed for example in U.S. Pat. No. 6,719,367 to Mic et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 6,244,648 to Gackstatter. Each of these armrest assemblies, which include unique sliding or biasing mechanisms, are nevertheless particularly susceptible to environmental elements which hinder their long-term reliability, and are further susceptible to misalignment and/or malfunction due to the multiple components which must function together during the sliding operation.
It would therefore be of benefit to provide a console sliding armrest which is stable in operation during both extension and retraction of the armrest, and which includes a guiding system having a minimal number of components for securely guiding the armrest from both the longitudinal and lateral directions (i.e. the vehicle's length-wise and width-wise directions) of the armrest. It would also be of benefit to provide a console sliding armrest which is easier and more economical to manufacture, and which provides improved reliability for long-term use as compared to existing sliding armrest designs.